The 1920s Economy: A Statistical Portrait

Industry / Agriculture/Electric Power/Economic Concentration/

Business Failures/ Distribution of Wealth/Advertising/Consumer Credit

Industry: % of Increasefrom 1922-28

Industrial Production: 70%

Gross National Product (GNP): 40%

Output per factory man hour: 75%

Corporate Profits: 62% (1923-1929)

Electric Power

% Industries powered by electricity in 1929: 50%

Advertising: Total Spending:

Pre WW I: $300-400 Million a year

929: $1.8 Billion/ year

Consumer Credit

1925: $1.38 Billion (Consumer Credit outstanding)

1927: 15% of all consumer durables bought on installment payments

60% of automobiles bought on installment payments
80% of radios bought on installment payments

1929: $3 Billion (Consumer Credit outstanding)
$7 Billion (Total Consumer Goods purchased on Credit)

Economic Concentration, 1929

% ofbanks controlled by the top 1% of Banking Corporations: 46%

% of industry controlled by top 200 Corporations: 50%

% of corporate wealth controlled by top 200 Corporations: 49%

% of all wealth controlled by top 200 Corporations: 22%

Workers

Percentages of Increase, 1923-29

Worker's incomes increase:11%

Real Earnings (for employed wage earners) increase: 22%

Average Work Week: -4%

Minimum incomenecessary for a decent family standard of living: $2500

Percentage of American families with incomes under $2500 in 1929: 71%

Agriculture

Farm Production in 1919: $21.4 billion

Farm Production in 1929: $11.8 billion

Distribution of Wealth

Rise in per capita income for top 1% of population, 1920-1929: 75%

Rise in per capita income for nation as a whole: 9%

% of American Families with no savings: 80%

% of savings held by top .1% of Americans: 34%

% of savings held by top 2.3% of Americans: 67%

Part I:After reviewing the statistical portrait of the 1920s make three generalizations about the economy of the 1920s. Think beyond what is obvious when you process the statistical information and make scholarly statements that interpret the economic trends of the 1920s.

1) ______

______

2) ______

______

3) ______

______

Part II:Thesis statements are based on a research question that guides inquiry into a topic. A question that might result from the statistical portrait is:

How did the American economy change during the 1920s?

Using the information in the statistical portrait, the generalizations you wrote and the research question; write a one sentence thesis statement about the economy of the 1920s.

______

______

The rubrics below are for Teacher Evaluation:

Basic ProficientAdvanced

Generalization 1: ______

Generalization 2: ______

Generalization 3: ______

Thesis:

_____ Basic: A vagueor obvious statement lacking insight

_____ Proficient: Limited insight, limited synthesis

_____ Advanced: Sophisticated, insightful and demonstrates a synthesis of information